Martha L. Acosta Ed.D.

DR. MARTHA ACOSTA is an internationally regarded speaker, facilitator, and expert in Human and Organizational Learning who helps organizations with high-risk operations navigate the complexity of human systems in their operations. A consultant and trainer since the mid-1990s, Martha has helped countless leaders manage volatility, uncertainty, and ambiguity. She is also a senior moderator for Harvard Business Publishing’s corporate learning division. Before joining Harvard, Martha designed and delivered leadership classes for technology companies, including Cisco Systems, Intel, and Apple. She also led the Human Performance Improvement Team for the nuclear facilities at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), where she helped develop a national safety initiative for the Department of Energy and won LANL’s Director’s Achievement Award. Todd Conklin called her the “Godmother of HOP” on his Pre-accident Investigation podcast. Martha began her career in Silicon Valley helping fast-growing technology companies build the sales and support capacity needed to commercialize their innovative solutions. Later, she led the design and delivery of global leadership programs for a subsidiary of News International in the United Kingdom. Martha is a passionate community volunteer and holds leadership positions on non-profit boards. She chairs committees on the Board of Visitors and Governors of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is also an officer on the board of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation, which supports underserved students, teachers, and schools in Northern New Mexico. She previously sat on the Board of Homewise, a non-profit affordable housing developer and mortgage bank, and on the alumni boards of two of her alma maters. Martha earned a doctorate in Human and Organizational Learning from the George Washington University in Washington, DC, and both a Master of Business Administration and Master of Arts from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She also completed a graduate credential in training systems development from San Francisco State University. She earned her BA from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland.